Lyra McKee murder: Police release CCTV showing suspected gunman

Police released images of the man they believe shot dead Lyra McKee in Derry on April 18 2019. The PSNI's Jason Murphy said the image on the left shows the gunman shortly before he fired the fatal shot and then shortly afterwards on the right

Maeve Connolly and Neil Crossey

26 April, 2019 10:19

Police believe this was the man who shot dead Lyra McKee in Derry on April 18 2019

POLICE investigating Lyra McKee's murder have released additional CCTV footage from the night she was shot in Derry and are asking for help in identifying a man they believe was reponsible for her death.

PSNI Detective Superintendent Jason Murphy appealed for people to come forward with information about a number of people seen in the video.

Three men, one said to have been carrying a crate of petrol bombs, were seen walking across Central Drive in the Creggan estate a minute before the shooting on April 18.

"I'm releasing footage today from the night of Lyra's murder and I want to appeal to anyone who recognises or knows these people to talk to us."

"It's symptomatic of the fact that weapons of this type are in circulation in Creggan and other areas of Northern Ireland and continue to bring misery every single day to these communities," DS Murphy said.

Speaking about the main suspect, the PSNI officer said: "He is shorter than both of the other men and is of stocky build. It is of my belief that he is the gunman that fired indiscriminately into the crowd and placed the community and police officers at risk."

DS Murphy said he acknowledged there would be a reluctance in the Creggan community for people to speak to the PSNI.

“I recognise people living in Creggan may feel it’s difficult to come forward to speak to police," he said. "I want to provide a personal reassurance that we are able to deal with these concerns sensitively.

"At Lyra’s funeral on Wednesday we heard many messages about the potential for a better future but as I have said previously, such sentiment will all be in vain if collectively we cannot tackle the malign influence that some individuals continue to exert over our communities."